


So Your Boyfriend Is a Vampire

by homosexual_having_tea



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Klave, M/M, Vampire AU, but its also very soft, i mean like... theres a lot of angst, klave vampire au, this is my self indulgent au and nobody can stop me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27592334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homosexual_having_tea/pseuds/homosexual_having_tea
Summary: What if Dave hadn't died on Hill 689? What if he had been attacked by a creature during his deployment in Vietnam?
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz
Comments: 7
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Rightieo, so I thought "hey there's vampires in Vietnam, what if I went ahead and Frankensteined comic canon and show canon?" Anywho, feel free to leave kudos or comments if you liked it! :)

Before shipping out overseas, recruits had been warned about land mines, camouflaged enemies, napalm, and three thousand other dangers that awaited them in Vietnam. Any man signing up for the Army could have figured that an obvious danger would be that of ambushes, but one thing no one could never have possibly predicted was the fact there were apparently vampires who attacked American troops who had the misfortune of stumbling into their traps. A warning of such really should have been included in training. Dave hadn’t even believed vampires existed until he was attacked by one in the midst of an unexpected violent fight. 

Another thing he’d wished the Army had informed him of before his deployment was the fact that a rough statistic of 8% of vampire attack victims themselves developed vampiristic characteristics due to the venom coating the monsters’ razor-sharp claws and teeth. 

Meaning he was one of the supposedly “lucky” percent who survived, though with unusually sharp teeth that showed themself when he was high on adrenaline, and the highly unusual ability to survive far more bullet wounds than any average human. Only his commanding officers were aware of his condition, though he’d come close to revealing his secret to several of his, to be discreet, close friends he’d met in service.

The day he’d met Klaus, he swore to keep his secret as long as he could. This was the first man he’d ever truly felt happy and safe with, and he’d be damned if he let his condition mess up their relationship. Everyone else had reacted with nothing short of terror and hostility, and Dave didn’t know if he could bear scaring Klaus off with the knowledge it would be himself to blame.

And so, he’d carried on. Secretly dating Klaus, and holding the secret of his identity within that secret. Too many big secrets. But, he’d told himself trying to feel better about lying to the man he loved, it was only to protect him. Nobody, not even sweet, caring Klaus, would want to be with someone who was so close to being a hellish monster. It was for his own good. Klaus seemed so happy with their relationship and nobody, least of all him, would hurt Klaus by telling him how horrible he truly was.

He’d been doing so well, with only a few close calls when he’d be scared enough in battle for him to accidentally trigger his fangs. At least, he had been doing well. As it so turns out, getting shot causes many involuntary reactions.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Shouts filled the air as the ground shook with the force of explosions. Acrid smoke filled his lungs and painfully dried his eyes. Klaus hated everything about war, but he would go through it a hundred times over to be with Dave.

When he’d first arrived in the warzone, he’d kept the briefcase on him at all times, ready to flee at a moment’s notice. However, as time went on, he found himself sticking to Dave rather than the briefcase. It lay hidden in a hole under his bed, untouched for months. He knew rationally he’d have to go back to 2019 and help his siblings stop the end of the world but honestly... would they even miss him? His siblings had made it more than clear that they saw him as an idiot with less than worthless powers. What was a few months in the Vietnam War with the love of his life, who actually treated him like a person, in the long run? If he was being honest, he’d toyed with bringing Dave back with him to 2019 on multiple occasions. What would it be like for him, in a future where they didn’t have to be secretive about their every move together?

Only when a particularly loud explosion rocked the ground did he notice he’d zoned out for a moment. Gunfire cracked on the ground around him, sending dirt flying through the air. He shakily readjusted his helmet, crouching down further to the ground to avoid the bullets whizzing through the air. The enemy seemed to be getting closer as more and more bullets landed in the trench.

“Lock and load, Charlie’s away!” he shouted, peering over the edge of the trench with eyes squinted against the scorching smoke in the air. Loud orders rang out over the thunder of gunfire. 

“Christ on a cracker, that was a close one, huh, Dave?” Klaus grinned lightly at his boyfriend, his eyes still focused on the line of forest where the gunfire was coming from. His quip was met with an unusual silence. If nothing else, Dave would usually chuckle at Klaus’s strange expressions. More frantic shouts filled the air. Klaus risked a glance away from the enemy.

“Dave?” he shook Dave’s shoulder. He moved limply from the force. Realization dawned on him as he rested his gun on the ground. A golden flash from a bomb lit up the field like a bolt of lightning.

Dave wasn’t moving. He wasn’t moving. 

Klaus took hold of his boyfriend’s shoulders and flipped him to his back. A gaping, bloody hole in Dave’s chest made the breath freeze in Klaus’s chest. Dave’s head hung limply against the ground, wheezing as blood gurgled from his mouth. Klaus stared for a moment. The shock of seeing Dave bleeding and weak had all but paralyzed him. He broke out of his stupor to press a hand against Dave’s wound. He had to stop the bleeding. He couldn’t lose him.

He yelled for a medic but doubted the sound would carry far over the chaotic battlefield. He pressed his hands harder against Dave’s chest, blood seeping between his fingers.

“Hey, Dave, look at me. Look at me, okay,” Klaus panted. Quiet tears rolled down his cheeks. Dave coughed as he gazed at Klaus with distant, glazed eyes.

“Oh damn it,” Klaus muttered, whipping his head around as he searched for someone who could save Dave. He felt so helpless. He couldn’t watch Dave die in his arms. “Medic!”

Bombs whistled loudly overhead, lighting the heartbreaking scene with bright flashes of red and gold.

“It’s ok. You’re ok. Look at me. Hey, hey, look at me Dave,” Klaus gently ran a hand through Dave’s hair. With unfocused eyes, Dave gazed at Klaus. Coughs racked his body as more blood rose in his throat. Soft sobs shook Klaus’s body as he held Dave to his chest.

“Please, please, please stay with me, Dave,” a loud sob escaped his mouth as he hugged Dave close. “Stay with me.”

Klaus closed his eyes and rocked gently as he sobbed the word “no” over and over. Dave was dying. Dave was dying and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. He yelled for a medic once again, his voice trailing off into sobs before he could finish. The noises of the fight faded away. All he could focus on was the shallow heaving of Dave’s chest against his. All that mattered was that Dave was alive and breathing right now. Nothing else was there. Nothing else mattered. 

Time flew by. Dave’s breath had stilled more. Klaus didn’t know how much time had lapsed. His brain was barely functioning, the only thought in his head was Dave.  
...  
Dave was breathing. The first thing Klaus had heard in who knew how long was a sudden gasping inhale against his ear. Klaus pulled back from Dave’s chest, tears half-dried on his cheeks burning from the sudden exposure to the smoky air. A faint blue light was dancing across his wound, closing the bullet hole until there was no evidence to support the blood coating Dave’s torso.

Klaus was awe-struck. His eyes flitted to Dave’s face. His eyes, too, were rapidly blinking away tears. A pair of bone-white fangs poked into his blood soaked lips. 

Shakily, Klaus stuttered out, “O-Oh god. You’re-” Dave cut him off, avoiding Klaus’s gaze.

“I’m a monster. I’m so sorry.”

“You’re alive!” he sobbed happily, grabbing Dave’s face and pressing a quick, joyful kiss to his lips. “Oh my god, you’re ok. You’re alive, Dave, oh my god!”

Dave pushed him away gently. “You’re not afraid of me?” Klaus laughed tearfully and shook his head.

“I don’t think I could ever possibly be scared of you,” he smiled lovingly at Dave, taking his hand gently as bombs showered the two misfit soldiers in bright light. Dave grinned back, tears falling soundlessly from his eyes.

“I should have told you…” he ran a bloody thumb over the back of Klaus’s hand.”I’m so sorry I kept this from you. I was just… so afraid of scaring you off…”

Klaus helped Dave sit up against the edge of the trench, bits of dirt crumbling down his torn shirt.

“I get it, I totally get it, honey. But if it makes you feel any better, fangs are totally sexy,” he joked, squeezing Dave’s hand.

“You’re so weird,” his boyfriend laughed softly. He sighed before squeezing Klaus’s hand back. “I love you.”

“Love you too. Let’s get you to a medic, huh?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly this chapter is 98% fluff with a light salting of angst.

Hours after the battle had ebbed and the field hospital was full of wounded, Dave was looked over by the unit’s doctor who now, to his dismay, knew his secret.

“In all honesty, Katz, the only way I’d know you were ever shot was the fact you’re covered in enough blood to put Dracula to shame,” Dr. Winters had joked, the Dracula jab making Dave visibly shrink into the faded cot. Klaus had wanted to tell off the doctor, but it was clear Dave just wanted out of the hospital tent that reeked of blood and fear and death. This wasn’t a good time to cause a scene. 

Discreetly, Dave took Klaus’s hand and motioned towards the opening of the medical tent. Nodding, he asked the doctor if they could leave. The man nodded and quickly moved on to yet another patient with an ocean of blood drenching their shirt. Klaus helped Dave up from the cot. Looping Dave’s arm over his shoulder, he made a show of propping up his boyfriend so no one would question why a man with what appeared to be a bullet wound to the chest was just walking about the camp. The two soldiers limped out of the tent at a snail’s pace, eventually winding up in their barracks, which were entirely empty, save for a few blankets and unopened letters resting on cots. Probably due to the fact everyone in their unit all being treated for their wounds at the moment. 

Dave fell back onto his cot and he let his eyes slide shut, half from the exhaustion of healing his wound and half out of anxiety that Klaus would come to his senses and realize that staying with him was a mistake. Of course he’d said he wasn’t afraid. Klaus was Klaus, and Klaus was the sweetest to him. Feeling the cot dip a bit under the weight of Klaus sitting next to him, Dave rolled slightly to the side.

“How are you feeling, baby?” Klaus asked softly as Dave felt Klaus’s hand find his, gently lacing their fingers together. Fear gnawed at his thoughts. He felt exhausted, both mentally and physically, and he just couldn’t let this subject drop.

“Did you mean it?” he mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut further in preparation for the inevitable break-up coming his way.

“Mean what, honey?” Dave sighed softly.

“That… you weren’t scared of me with my… you know…” he trailed off, anxiety running rampant in his brain, forcing him to think of all the ways Klaus could break things off.

Klaus made a quiet noise. He squeezed Dave’s hand, caressing the back of his hand in a gentle way that gave Dave a, what he assumed was false, sense of security and love. 

“Aw Dave, I promise you that I could never be afraid of you. I love you, like, a ton, and I’m already scared enough of ghosts. You haven’t taken their place quite yet,” he laughed, the sound sending little butterflies through Dave’s stomach. “It’d take so much more than you having fangs for me to be scared of you, baby.”

Worries still popped up in Dave’s head. Situations that he knew were improbable but he couldn’t ignore. Words he knew Klaus would never say to him echoed in his mind.

“But what if I end up hurting you? Or what if you-”

A gentle kiss cut off his anxious babbling. He melted into it almost immediately, feeling a warm sensation drown the worry clawing at his thoughts. Klaus gently ran his hand through Dave’s hair, holding him close. 

What was definitely too soon, but could have been hours later, they slowly broke apart. Klaus pressed a soft kiss to the tip of his nose. Dave opened his eyes to see his boyfriend smiling at him, his comforting green eyes shining warmly.

“I swear to you on my dad’s grave, I’m not scared of you in the slightest, honey. I love you way too much for that,” Klaus reassured him before leaning in for another, albeit shorter, kiss. “As a matter of fact, I don’t think I’ve ever loved someone as much as I love you,” he whispered before kissing Dave again. Once they broke apart, they rested their foreheads against each other, their lips inches apart. Dave sighed happily.

“I love you, too. Thank you. For staying with me, I mean,” he shifted to lean his head against Klaus’s shoulder, smiling softly into the thick fabric of his vest that smelled like home.

“Glad to be of service, lovey,” Klaus grinned as he rested his head on top of Dave’s. Dave let himself smile openly and looked up at his boyfriend.

“You’re so damn adorable. Kiss me again?”

“Can do, sweetheart.”


End file.
